Like many of us, I try to review recent appellate decisions, particularly those originating in counties where I practice. When four Superior Court opinions in similar cases from two of the counties where I focus my practice appeared in little over nine months, I more than took notice. The topic is something I was familiar with as a former county Children, Youth & Families (CYF) solicitor; a topic that has been receiving more attention in the last few years. That topic is directly tied to the national immigration policy, so once again, family law is on the front lines. What I am talking about is the concept known as special immigrant juvenile (SIJ) status. The SIJ statute is found at 8 USCA Section 1101(a)(27)(J) and provides that a qualifying juvenile may apply for lawful permanent residency and spared from possible deportation. See Yeboah v. U.S. Deptartment of Justice, 345 F.3rd 216, 221 (3rd Cir. 2003). Paraphrasing the SIJ statute, a qualifying juvenile is one who has been declared dependent by a state juvenile court, or which a state court has legally committed to or placed in the custody of an agency or individual. Reunification of the juvenile with one or both parents is not viable due to abuse, neglect, abandonment, or similar basis as defined by state law. Furthermore, a state court needs to have determined that it would not be in the juvenile's best interest to be returned to the juvenile's or the parent's home country.

The process to obtain SIJ status is for the juvenile or someone acting on the juvenile's behalf to obtain from a state court an order finding the following:

• That the juvenile is unmarried and under 21 years of age;
• The juvenile is dependent on the court or placed in the care of an individual appointed by the court;
• The juvenile court has jurisdiction under state law to make determinations regarding the custody and care of juveniles;
• Reunification with one or both parents is not possible under state law due to abuse, neglect, or abandonment or a similar basis; and,
• It is not in the best interest of the juvenile to be returned to his or her parents' previous country. See 8 CFR §204.11(a),(c) and (d).

Assuming the petitioner can obtain such an order from the state court, the petitioner is then free to seek actual SIJ status from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS).